


lily

by Aithilin, CkyKing



Series: Bouquet [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: 4+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Flowers, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M, Nyx is a Dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 21:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10474701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aithilin/pseuds/Aithilin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/CkyKing/pseuds/CkyKing
Summary: Nyx's first night on guard duty at the Citadel isinteresting.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nicrt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicrt/gifts).



> happy birthday from the horseman of war to [nicrt](https://nicrt.tumblr.com). here's a thanks for your _suggestion_ that brought this clusterfuck together.  ( ಠ◡ಠ ) 

It was one of his first rounds of guard duty within the Citadel. 

Nyx had arrived for check-in early, had been given a map and a brief tour through the HQ before sent on his way. He had _time_ , luckily enough, because the inside of the palace was a lot fucking bigger than he imagined. Looking at his missive again, he was surprised to see he'd been stationed outside the Crown Prince's rooms—however, last he'd heard the prince had been of ill-health lately and wasn't allowed to leave the Citadel for a while.

Keeping track of his time as he went, he smiled as a maid walked passed him with a vase stuffed with flowers toward him—the girl blushed prettily and his smile turned _playful_ as he strode on ahead passed her; walking straighter, taller, confident on the way to his post. Yes, he was terrified on his first day of active duty, but he had to keep calm, he couldn't panic or be distracted or—

Another maid was setting up a vase in the next corridor and the scent of them was in full bloom, filling the hall and daring to overwhelm anyone with allergies. They were lovely though, and he saw a few red ones that looked _familiar_ , so as he sidled up to the young woman he smiled and asked he if he could take one of those? Laughing sweetly for him and plucking the most vibrant of the red ones from the bouquet, Nyx thanked her with a peck on the cheek and wandered off with his prize in hand.

The north tower of the Citadel was home to the royal family, separated from the lower floors by heavy security checks, magic barriers one needed high clearance to pass through, and and endless maze of corridors, hallways, and rooms. Absently, Nyx figured it was kind of lonely for the one heir to grow up surrounded by all this, but he couldn't judge. 

Twenty minutes later, he was standing at his post next to the door of the Prince's chambers by himself, having tagged off with the previous guard (another Glaive who looked bored out of his _mind_ ), and settled into parade stance for his shift.

It was going to be a _long_ night.

-

A few hours in, Nyx heard what sounded like whimpering coming from beyond the chamber doors beside him. He waited, listening for it again in case he was hearing things. It happened again, a muffled cry like a child in pain. Frowning as he darted a look up and down the hall, Nyx left his post and slipped into the room; he didn't close the door behind him, hoping to check on the Prince quickly and leave just as fast. 

Turns out, nothing is ever that simple.

Venturing further into the suit and rounding into another door way, he found the bedroom and an odd setup. A simple heart monitor and IV stand were positioned nearby, the monitor beating perhaps a little faster than it should have been, and in the middle of a bed far too big for a small child, lay a young Prince Noctis. The child gave another whimper and Nyx stepped further into the bedroom, doing a sweep of the room to see whether someone else was in here and disturbing the boy. When he found _no one_ , he was surprised. 

Crossing the bedroom to check on the prince, he found the monitor was beeping a little rapidly, and the prince looked to be having a nightmare of some kind, and when he looked at the boy—

There was a carved charm of Carbuncle dropped into the folds of the bedding beside him.

Casting a nervous glance over his shoulder, he approached the bed and sat on the edge of it, a slight crease between his brows over the state of the prince. He didn't know why the boy had been left unattended, in a room that was possibly bigger than Nyx's house back home, or what the situation was— but it wasn't okay to him for a kid this young to be left by himself during a nightmare. He remembered the nights he'd wake up from his own nightmares to his mother holding him, and how he'd do the same for his sister.

Reaching for the charm, he frozen when he felt a sudden _tug_ , the magic within him seemed to be reacting, _reaching_ even, for the boy. It was unnerving to feel it, this bone-deep _yearning_ inside him that came from his gifted magic from the King. Picking up the charm, he felt another surge of power, this time from the little thing itself. It felt _alive_ in his hands. 

"Huh. Aren't you a lucky one, little prince?" Nyx smiled, brushing his thumb across the charm with a knowing smile, "This guy doesn't pick just anyone to play with."

Nyx set the charm on the pillow besides the boy's head, and paused for a moment, before brushing gentle fingers through the dark, damp bangs on the boy's forehead. It startled him when he felt a spark of power from the kid, a low hum vibrating beneath the surface of his skin. Smiling, he dropped his hand away. He should have figured the kid would be as strong as his father, perhaps more so, with magic.

Nyx carefully pulled the red flower from inside his coat, and twirled it absently between his fingers. He set the bloom beside the charm, positive he saw the little charm glow for a brief second.

"Looks like the ones back home." He murmured, "Not quite the same, but the red is similar. Bright and beautiful."

Nyx tore his gaze away and let his thoughts wander, realizing he should get back to his post soon in case any other guards patrolled the corridor. Just as he was about to stand and leave, another faint whimper left the boy that cause him to freeze. Flickering a glance towards the doorway, and beyond where he'd left the bedroom door cracked open, frowned in thought for a long moment before turn away and focusing on the prince again.

Figuring he was probably breaking about a thousand rules as he did this, he carefully picked up the boy's tiny wrist in his hand and turned it over in his hand to rub soothing circles on his pulse point. It was something he'd learned a long time, something about it being a calming motion, and he'd often done it for his sister when they were children. 

The longer he did it, the more he noticed beep of the heart monitor slowed to a regular pace and he privately grinned to himself. At least it was working. 

He kept it up a short while, humming softly as he did so—a melody from Galahd, used to help children sleep during storm seasons when the nights were louder and scarier than the days. There was a jump in the pulse beneath his thumb, but it felt more like magic than a heartbeat, and he smiled.

"I think you'll be okay, little prince." Nyx whispered, eyes landing on the flower and charm beside the boy's head, "You've got good friend watching over you."

Resting the prince's hand back on the blankets again, Nyx stood from the bed and quietly slipped away to resume his post.

He didn't see the spark of crystalline magic, nor the flicker of dark lashes over hazy sapphire eyes.


End file.
